


would it drive you away

by purplederple



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017), choni - Fandom
Genre: F/F, M/M, choni
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2019-08-30 04:15:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16757494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplederple/pseuds/purplederple
Summary: Cheryl Blossom got her big break on mainstream TV through musical comedy-drama show "Gay". But lately, she feels as if the showrunners have run out steam for her character. One night she tumbles into the rabbit hole of fanfiction, enamoured in particular by the work of writingforwomxn a.k.a.: Toni Topaz.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first time putting out something I've actually written so please let me know what you think.
> 
> Also, I hope you notice what the hell I'm trying to parody over here :))
> 
> Enjoy! <3

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - DAY 

 _We see a pair of white tennis shoes walking down the hallway, the camera slowly panning upwards to reveal that these shoes belong to head cheerleader_   **GWEN MURRAY.**   _Her fiery locks up in a tight ponytail, her arms akimbo as two other cheerleaders, flank her from each side._

 

**GWEN (V.O.)**

It’s hard being top dog. 

 

_The two cheerleaders disperse to presumably head to their own lockers._

 

**GWEN (V.O.)**

Everyone’s got their eyes on you, even more so after a party. 

 

 _Cut to a continued mid shot of_ **GWEN**   _as she passes through a blur of people, their buzz of murmurs increasing in volume._

  

 **GWEN (V.O.)**  

Especially after  _that_  party.

 

 _Cut to a shot of a letterman jacket-clad arm thrusting a cup of bright blue slushie into_ **GWEN**   _’_   _s face, she gasps in utter shock as the crowded hallway stills._

 

**JOCK #1**

Heard you lesbos like blue ‘cus like, it’s the warmest color.

 

 **JOCK #1**   _turns to_ **JOCK #2**   _in delight._

 

 **JOCK #2**  

Sick burn, bro!

 

**JOCK #2** _high fives_ **JOCK #1** _as they guffaw, abruptly cut short by-_

 

**GWEN**

You undeveloped gorillas, slushies are made of ice!

 

 _Both jocks look at_ **GWEN,**   _dumbfounded and at a loss for words until-_

 

 **JOCK #1**  

Still makes you a lesbo.

 

P _rompting_ **JOCK #2** _to high five him again with more guffaws as they both walk away,_ **GWEN** _in the foreground wiping blue slush away from her eyes in frustration._

 

_Title card **“GAY”**  accompanied by a choir of voices singing the title._

 

“And cut!” the director yells, “Good take! It's a wrap on 2x03, your PAs will let you know about tomorrow's shoot schedule. Get some rest everyone!” He continues, prompting a round of farewells as he makes his way to the star of the scene herself, Cheryl Blossom. “Good work today, Cheryl.” The redhead pulled a towel she was provided from her face and draped it over her drenched shoulders. “Dilton,” She singsongs, “I thought we weren't going to use real slushie?” She playfully complained, although it really did suck, she was trying to present herself as more ‘approachable’ these days. “We wanted to capture your genuine reaction to your first slushie, it was amazing by the way!” Dilton praises, patting her towel-clad back as he offers her a thumbs up for added effect. “Get cleaned up, see you tomorrow!”

 

Cheryl just sighs and picks up the edges of the towel to continue drying off the ends of her hair as she makes her way to her dressing room. The redhead was honestly glad that her character was being given a different storyline this season, the manipulative head bitch in charge of season one long forgotten. It had painted her quite an image as a newcomer in Hollywood which paved her a rocky path to garner support, a friend recommended she connect another way which was why she’d been trying and working double by starting her own Youtube channel.

 

Entering her dressing room, she noticed said friend still comfortably lounging on her couch, “You’re still here.” Cheryl deadpanned, shutting the door behind her. “Now that's the kind of attitude that gets you hated on in Twitter.” Kevin mocks in jest to which Cheryl just simply snorts in reply. “Says the freeloader who’s using on-set WiFi to upload his new video.” She mocks right back, not leaving her friend any room for a reply as she goes straight to the bathroom for a shower.

About half an hour later the actress emerges to find her friend fully engrossed in his phone, “What now? That Tinder boy of yours send you a good nude?” Cheryl teases as she puts away her things for the drive home. “On the contrary, one of your fans tweeted me something very intriguing…” Kevin replies with a smirk, his eyes scanning his phone once more before looking up at his friend. “Ever heard of fanfiction?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's a bit of a weird start but let me know what you think! Next chapter you'll get to know Toni.


	2. Chapter 2

Toni Topaz sat with her back against the seat rest, her foot tapping nervously against the tiled floor in anticipation. Her friends always found it odd that she was nervous about each piece she wrote since she’d gotten good (amazing, really but she wasn't inclined to brag) remarks so far, she couldn't really explain that it was something about her writing going public that was making her nervous. And probably also the fact that her entire college career was riding on her scholarship. 

Between her wheelchair bound grandfather and her alcoholic uncle, the Topaz family really couldn't afford to send Toni to college. She'd been working odd jobs all throughout high school to save up but then had to use up a good chunk of it for her grandfather's medical bills. She persisted though, applying for literature and writing programs on scholarship all over the country. Now here she was in a shitty little apartment in Downtown L.A., living the best life could afford her with two of her bestfriends.

“Tones!” a muscular arm is immediately slung over her shoulder, pulling her into his side as soon as she's through the door.

“No! I don't want to see another dick pic!” Toni groans, shielding her eyes as Fangs brandishes his phone in her face. “He already asked me about that so you’re in the clear.” Sweet Pea grumbles from their makeshift dining table, shoveling cereal in his mouth.

“Yeah and it was definitely a screenshot from a video so total catfish.” Fangs quickly dismisses, pulling Toni’s hand away from her eyes. “Buuuut check this out! Cheryl's looking for fanfics to read and people are sending in yours!”

Toni freezes then, if there was every a time she could say she literally felt the color drain from her face this was probably it. It was probably even leaking out from her toes, she was never going to recover from this.

Her eyes finally zone in on the tweet Fangs was forcing upon her.

 

_**@kevinkeller** : Of course I’m not using my bestfriend's TV clout for views  😜_

_(quoted tweet)_

_**@cherylblossom** : So @kevinkeller and I are gonna be reading some fanfics...tweet me your faves!_

 

“Shit.” She breathes, grabbing the phone and quickly scrolling through the replies as her eyes widen with each mention of her own fanfic.

“Toni, breathe.” Fangs suggests through a laugh, attempting to pry his phone out of her grasp. “What were you expecting anyway? Tons of people read your story all the time.” Sweet Pea points out through a mouthful of more cereal.

“Yeah but this is different! This is the actual star of the actual show that I sometimes hate but would love to rewrite!” she exclaims, finally shutting the door behind her and heading straight for the cereal box at Sweet Pea’s side. “Look, Tiny. It’s not like anyone’s gonna find out you wrote that, your name isn't even on that thing.” the taller boy pointed out.

“You’re probably right.” Toni sighed, popping a few bits of cereal in her mouth and chewing as she thought. It wasn't any different if Cheryl and her friend like it or not, Toni’s fanfic got the occasional critical review and she’s since learned to handle it better since the first time it happened.

“I’m always right.” Sweet Pea grinned, standing up to dump his empty bowl in the sink then proceeding to grab his leather jacket off of their makeshift coat rack also known as the couch. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a job to get to.” and just as quickly as he ate, the tall boy was out the door.

“Seriously, Tones. It’s not like Cheryl Blossom is even gonna care about fanfics after that video.” Fangs assured, plopping down on the couch just as his phone notification went off. “But we’re still gonna find out what she thinks of what you wrote…tomorrow.” He added with a laugh. 

“Do you actually have your notifications turned on for her?” Toni questioned, practically stomping over to once again grab his phone out of his hands. “Hell no! She’s hot and all but Kevin’s like way cuter.” the boy explains, just as Toni successfully snags the phone from his hands. 

_**@kevinkeller** : There were some really good ones ngl_

_(quoted tweet)_

_**@cherylblossom** : You guys are amazing! Thanks for all the suggestions and watch out for the video tomorrow! 💖_

 

Toni chewed on her bottom lip nervously as she read Cheryl’s tweet over and over again. It was an easy 16-word read, pretty generic if anyone wanted to know what she honestly thought. If the rumors are true then she probably had someone write it for her. Toni couldn't help but snort as she finally handed Fangs his phone back.

She knew Cheryl started a channel to make more fans so she probably wasn't going to be too harsh about the fanfics. Sure the show was sometimes awful but some characters had potential which was why she started writing a fanfic anyway. “I just know you're going to make me sit through that entire damn video.” she grumbles, lifting Fangs’ legs so she herself could plop down next to him. “It probably won't be as bad as you think, Tones. And besides Kevin's going to be in the video too so yes, we are definitely watching it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm aware my chapters are a bit short and I'm trying to work on that. c:


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went back and edited a few details to fit my timeline better, they don't make any big changes but I tend to overthink things. :))

“Thanks for watching, bye!” Cheryl sing-songed, waving at the camera with a dazzling smile while Kevin flashed the “audience” a thumbs up and let his hands flop to his lap just as quickly. The redhead reached out from where she was sat to stop the camera from recording.

“Some of those were pretty... _ interesting _ .” She mumbled, emphasizing the last word in particular as she went through the footage. Kevin turned to her with an arched brow, “Cut the crap, Cheryl.” to which she couldn’t help but giggle.

“Okay, a few were rather… _ steamy _ -”

“Not to mention written terribly.” Kevin chimed in, earning himself a glare from his friend. “What? I’m gayer than the Elf on the Shelf and I’m very sure that's not what lesbianing is like.”

Cheryl just gave him an incredulous look before turning her gaze back to the small viewfinder attached to her camera, “And people think I’m a bitch.” She muttered, finally turning the device off and settling down next to him on the bed.

“I got to hand it to a lot of them, they're like what? Kids in high school?” Kevin waited for his friend's affirmative nod before proceeding. “But they’ve given Gwen waaaay better storylines than your show writers have.” He finished conspiratorially.

“Don't even go there, Kev. They promised me better stuff this season,” Cheryl glared at him disapprovingly as Kevin's eyes glowed with excitement. “Which I can  _ never _ tell you about because you're a huge blabbermouth, specially when you're drunk off your ass.”

“That was  _ one  _ time!” He argued, “And Weatherbee almost never let you back on set because of that.” She giggled at the memory. “So for everyone's sake get the hell out of here so I can go over my script for tomorrow and also edit this video.”

“Rude!” Kevin gasped in mock offense. “Let me know what time it's coming out so I can tweet about it, see you!” He leaned, pressing his cheek against hers. “Will do, lock the door on your way out!”

As soon as she heard the click of the door Cheryl grabbed the sealed brown envelope from her bag and immediately tore it open, ready to devour her script. Her brow wrinkled as she frowned, noticing that she had little to no screen time in the new episode. Going over the script once more to make sure the redhead just decided to brush it off, the previous episode was pretty Gwen-centric so there wasn't any room for complaining. She just had a pretty good story arc so she could humbly accept sitting at the back of the choir room and dancing along in group numbers. 

Deciding she could memorize her few lines the following day, Cheryl opted to pull out her laptop and start editing her new video instead.

She was almost an hour into reviewing and editing footage when she came across a particular fanfic she recalled she actually found interesting. Aside from the fact it was pretty well written, the author seemed to have a good grasp of her character on the show. Or at least they had the same perspective of Gwen and she was interested to see how this fan saw her character progressing.

Pausing the video, Cheryl pulled up the browser on her phone to search for the story. She played the video on her laptop again, just when Kevin mentions the title and author.

_ “This one is called ‘HNLY: He’ll Never Love You’ and it’s by someone called writingforwomxn, with an X for the E!” _ Kevin says cheerily, Cheryl just chuckles and shakes her head as she pauses the video once more. Through their screens no one would be able to tell that they were both dog tired and about ready to crash, the amount of energy they were both giving off in the video was probably the last bit they had left. The redhead believed it was worth it though, they were making over a million people happy with just one video.

Finally finding the fanfic, Cheryl proceeded to load the story. Her gazed quickly skimmed the information, her eyes landing on the number of chapters so far.

“Eighteen…” She murmurs, glancing back to her laptop as she pursed her lips in thought.  _ ‘A little reading break never hurt anyone.’  _ she thought, settling into her chair as she scrolled through chapter one.

Cheryl sits up with a jolt, her phone alarm screeching at her as it vibrated against the hardwood floor. “Shit!” She exclaims, sliding off the chair and falling to her knees, in search of her phone beneath the table. The redhead instinctively turns of the alarm as her eyes land on the time.

“ _ Shit! _ ” She scrambles off the floor and heads straight for the shower, making a mental note to apologize for the late video on her way to set.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked this one! Please let me know what you think. :)


	4. Chapter 4

“Toni! Toni! Toni!” Fangs called, hopping over the back of the couch to land perfectly---albeit with a groan of protest from their ancient couch---beside Toni who was busy typing away on her laptop.

 

“Why I ever agreed to live with a 5-year-old in a man’s body and the Grouchy Green Giant, I’ll never know.” The pinkette grumbled in jest, making sure her work saved before turning to her friend. “What now?”

 

Without a word Fangs handed his phone over, a smile that could only be interpreted as devious on his face.

 

_@cherylblossom: Sorry guys! Video coming a little late today 😅_

 

“ _And_?” She deadpanned, once her dark eyes read through the simple tweet. “Aren't you at all interested to know what she thinks of your work? I mean that is _her_.” Fangs replied, gesturing to his phone as if the actual Cheryl Blossom was in its place.

 

Toni twisted her lips in thought for a brief moment, “I guess...but Gwen isn't _really_ her. Cheryl's playing a character.”

 

“Honestly, what do you even have against her? It's not like you even met her.” The boy returned with an eye roll, snatching his phone back from his friend’s grasp.

 

“A lot of people come into the bar.” She started off with a shrug, “Some say she's standoffish, others say she totally ignored them. A few said she was kind of a bitch.” Now that Toni had lain all she had out there though, she’d come to realize that it wasn't very much information. “Really, Tones? That's kind of…not much. And honestly kind of dumb.” Fangs teased, causing the girl sat beside him to grunt in annoyance and shove him almost off of the couch.

 

“Whatever! She just gives me a vibe okay.” Toni concluded with a grumble, reaching for her laptop once again to continue where she’d left off.

 

“She’s hot though, you know.” Fangs pointed out with a teasing smirk. Oh, Toni did know, she actually thought that the redhead was gorgeous. So she found a celebrity attractive, sue her. “She isn't my type though, but Kevin on the other hand?” The boy whistled as he scrolled through what the girl presumed was Kevin's Instagram feed.

 

“Shut up, asshat!” Toni warned him with a shove, “I gotta finish this before class!”

 

With a chuckle, the boy rolled off the couch leaving her to wrap up her paper.

 

_____

 

Cheryl yawned as she sat in the makeup chair, garnering a brow arched in curiosity from the on-set makeup artist.

 

“I thought you didn't finish editing the video with Kevin?” Midge inquired, layering on a little more concealer on the faint shadows under the actress’ eyes.

 

“I didn't, Jason called and catching up took longer than we thought.” She replied. The redhead had been thinking of an excuse for her obvious lack of sleep. It wasn’t much of a lie anyway, just an overextension of the truth.

 

“Oh! How is he? He hasn’t come to visit the set since the show started.” Midge inquired, mildly disappointed at this realization. Cheryl couldn’t help but smile knowingly, her brother had been a charmer since they were little and she’d noticed everyone fawning over him.

 

“I don’t know much about Football, just enough I guess to know that he’s working his ass off and having the time of his life.” The redhead said in response as Midge handed her a tube of mascara. Cheryl made sure to get an even coating on her eyelashes as she continued, “I think his season finishes before taping does so maybe he can come over.” The actress twisted around in her seat to return the tube of mascara, just in time to catch Midge’s eyes light up with excitement.

 

Cheryl totally got it, Jason had been the light in a home that was dark and gloomy. There was just something about him that made everything seem brighter.

 

“Don’t tell the others, I want dibs when he gets here.” The makeup artist teased, packing away her things. “I’m headed to craft services, what about you?”

 

She pursed her lips then shook her head in response, “I might just take a nap before roll.” Punctuating her response with a yawn.

 

"Alright, catch you on set." Midge give the readhead a small wave before exiting the trailer.

 

Cheryl wiggled around in her seat, opting to take a nap sitting so as not ruin her hair and makeup. She checked her phone for the time and figured she had about 15 minutes before she was needed on set which was good enough for a power nap...

 

...or to finish the chapter she'd been reading before she fell asleep the night before.

 

The redhead navigated to her web browser, thankful that reloading the page hadn't lost her place and was immediately able to dive right back in.

 

She'd been completely immersed in Gwen Murray's inner musings (Cheryl couldn't fathom how a complete stranger who hadn't even been in a character development meeting with the show writers themselves had such a deep understanding of Gwen's plight) when three quick raps against the door sounded out in the silent trailer, jolting the actress back to reality just as her eyes flitted over the last sentence.

 

"Need you on set, Cheryl!" The PA called out cheerily. "Thanks, Ginger!" She called out distractedly, rising to her feet as she scrolled up and down in search of the button that would lead her to the next chapter.

 

Her eyes widened as it dawned on her that there wasn't one.

 

The redhead scrolled the page all the way back up, skimming over the little note writingforwomxn had left for any indication as to what had happened.

 

_Quick note before we proceed with the story! As you all know (and encourage!) school comes first. At this point in time my curriculum is demanding a little bit more from me which is why I'm going to (sadly) reschedule my posting days to just every Thursday. I hope you understand. :)_

_Nevertheless, thank you for all the comments and kudos! Catch you next week!_

Cheryl found herself pouting with disappointment as she came to the realization that Thursday was still tomorrow. As much as she hated to admit, she knew she was impatient (Jason teased her about it all the time).

Maybe she should've been paying attention to those notes after all…

"Cher?" Ginger called out, concerned. "Need help?"

 

As if finally remembering her bodily functions, the actress snapped back to life and headed for the door. Ginger sighed in relief at the sight of her, radioing in that they were on their way to set as she guided the preoccupied redhead to the service car.

 

Cheryl realized with a pout that she had no idea when on Thursday the next chapter would be posted. She was glad for the distraction work brought, and then later she'd have her new video to keep her occupied.

 

It dawned on Cheryl then that this was probably an extra thing she didn't quite need at that point. The redhead eventually rationalized that the fanfic was usually a quick read and wouldn't take away much from her already busy schedule.

 

She couldn't help but notice though the subtle nagging at the back of her brain, a nagging that sounded suspiciously like her mother.

 

_"Stay focused, Cheryl! No deterrents and make your father and I proud."_

 

The redhead chewed her bottom lip in thought as the service car made the short trip to set.

 

Surely a bit of light reading was not going to be a _deterrent_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took forever (if anyone will still read this lol) I can make excuses until I'm blue in the face but what matters is we've finally arrived at a new chapter. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think :D


End file.
